I am building a keezer on a budget, slowly, but surely finding deals and applying elbow grease to create a bad ass 2 keg keezer. I have the freezer, and the aesthetics of it are the first part to be completed , because it takes the most time. I have never setup or built a kegarator unit before, so this isa fun and exciting adventure because I get to learn a lot along the way, not to mention how awesome it would be to have 2 kinds of my own specialty on tap!!!

I bought a draft tower off of Ebay for $85 with shipping, it included everything shown below. It came with 2 commercial keg couplers (which I don't need) , the tower, the insulation, and 2 complete faucets with shanks. As it stands now, I have everything I need for the outside to look complete. My uncle does Barrett-Jackson quality car restorations for a living, so he said he would give me a hand fixing the dents and painting it/installing the draft tower (housing, top, rails etc)

I finally got the tower with the parts in the mail today, and got a good, detailed look at the faucets. The guy who sold it to me didn't clean or take care of it, as there is a good amount of surface rust and what looks like lime build-up. I went to home depot and bought some CLR, dismantled everything and soaked it in CLR and then used a wire brush to clean as much as I could. They cleaned up good, but after re assembly I did a "leak test" by putting some water in the seal/in the spout of the faucet and wanted to see if they would leak. Well, sure enough there were some small drips that slowly came out. I brought one faucet into my local brewhouse on my way home (prior to cleaning them) to buy some ingredients, and he suggested to sell me one for 20 bucks complete after I showed it to him. His reasoning was because there was a lot of rust. I know he is in business to make money, so i am turning to this community. My question is, judging by what I paid, did I get a good deal? Does the condition of my faucets warrant a replacement? Are they supposed to look kind of brass-ish on the inside?Are there companies that sell seals to replace the faucet seals for cheap ? If at all? (compared to a replacement faucet)

Also, is it worth me wiring a fan to blow cold air up the tower? How much warmer does the beer in the tower get compared to the rest of the beer in the keezer?

Last question is about temperature control. I can buy a ranco temp controller, and they average around 70 bucks. Any recommendations for a DIY that goes below 45 degrees that I can make/wire for less than $45 bucks?
I saw a DIY temp controller on this site that was made more for a fermentation chamber (rather than a keezer), but it only goes down to 45 degrees, and I couldn't find a home temp controller unit that was cheap enough, and that went to 35 degrees to justify building it vs buying it.

Any suggestions as to where to buy a 5 lb co2 tank? I live in Phoenix, and my local brewhouse sells 5 lb tanks filled (with a current test) for $109.95 + tax. I found 1 on craigslist for 50 bucks with a good test but it was empty. Am I better off hitting up a welding supply place?

I am not afraid of putting a lot of elbow grease and patience into making this project come to life at an affordable price. I would appreciate any honest advice, as I have months before the superbowl (by which it needs to be ready for)

Those faucets do look like they've seen some use, but if it's just a drip you're trying to solve and you're okay with them cosmetically, you can get o-ring kits cheap. Like $2.99 HERE. You'd just want to order some other stuff with it so the $7.99 flat rate shipping is worth it.

Check around and be patient on the Ranco. You can find them for about $50 now and then. Just keep checking eBay frequently.

As far as needing a fan on the tower, the worst case scenario is you have to pour off a few ounces after it has set for a while and the beer in the line warms up. If the tower is well insulated, then it shouldn't be a problem when it's seeing frequent use, like during the Super Bowl. (Chiefs are gonna go all the way this year BTW )

On the co2 tank, $50 isn't too bad for an empty tank. It only costs me $11 to refill a 5lb. That's $61 vs. $109.95+tax. Also, hydrotesting isn't that expensive if you do find a good deal on an expired one. IIRC, it only cost me an extra $13 on a 20lb exchange.

thats not rust inside the faucets. they are brassthey are chromed on the outside. buy an o-ring kit. theres nothing wrong with them.

There isn't any rust after I took some CLR and a wire brush to them, it is good to know that they ARE made of brass, because that is what they looked like. Will brass alter the taste of my brew, or are the "innards" of a faucet normally brass?